Businesses In This Cozy Berlin Neighborhood Are Going All In On Bitcoin

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These two tradespeople are among around a dozen in the Graefekiez, a
cosy neighbourhood established in the 19th century in the southern
Berlin district of Kreuzberg, which currently boasts the highest density
of businesses accepting the currency in the world. Its growing list of Bitcoin establishments includes a restaurant, a printing shop, a bar and boutique.

Community leaders believe that Bitcoin's ethos is embedded in a
similar political consciousness to that of Kreuzberg. The payments
system, which has been viewed with scepticism elsewhere, arguably fits
in well with the district's rebellious, critical, leftwing history, not
least its residents' willingness to protest against the rising influence
of capitalism, in particular the creeping gentrification that is
threatening to envelop the district as Berlin undergoes a property boom.

"Kreuzberg is traditionally an area in which people are very
politically aware, critical towards existing systems and are constantly
discussing and looking for alternatives to them, which makes it the
perfect breeding ground for Bitcoin," says Joerg Patzer, a staunch
Bitcoin advocate who roams the neighbourhood with a missionary zeal in
search of new recruits.